I was watching “Hidden Figures” few days back, before the Oscars, in a bid to finish off all the nominated movies in the category. And I did finish all of them.
And I liked all of them. Yes, a few of those are my favorites, but they all were good.
The reason I mention this particular movie is, it blew open a new thought in me. The story is about 3 Black women working at NASA who rise against all odds and succeed. Even with the system designed in a manner which can deter anyone. It happens to be a true story and is so commendable that this inspiring story was told.
From segregated washrooms to a separate coffee container, to not being able to attend college along with the superior “whites”, were just the tip of the iceberg of discrimination that loomed large in America at that time.
While their story has to be applauded and the inspiration used to structure even more people to rise even further, I’ve had this question since watching the movie. The question is, “What if they would have failed?”
Would this story still inspire others to strive for the standards of greatness? To work hard and achieve something? To contribute to something substantial?
Would people have tagged them as “Just not good to compete”?!
The struggle for them to rise above those challenges are substantial and there can be so many of those other stories that might have never been glorified. We care for something only when it succeeds, when it doesn’t, it just doesn’t pique our interest.
Applauding an effort is equally important. We might not be able to put those in metrics, but maybe one extra applaud might help in pulling someone up, who has lost hope of ever making it.